Application of PEDOT:PSS Conductive Polymer to Enhance the Conductivity of Natural Leather: Retanning Process

Leather is a natural material, made of collagen fiber bundles used to produce diverse types of products such as gloves and shoes due to durability, viscoelasticity, and strength. However, there is a limitation to using it for smart products due to electrical insulator properties and it needs conductivity properties to use for smart products. This study showed the new method of increasing the conductivity of goat glove leather by using poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) as an enhancement reaction during the retanning process after leather acid dyeing. Analyze the properties of experimentally and conventionally treated leathers such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, tensile strength, color fastness, water absorption test, organoleptic, and electron microscopic analysis. The current study found that the treated leathers with 0.5 M PEDOT:PSS, 0.3 M DMSO, and acid dyestuff shows a maximum conductivity of 8.0 S/cm and can be used for making conductive gloves for operating touch-screen devices. Generally, it was found that acid-dyed leather samples treated by PEDOT:PSS with DMSO are more highly conductive than basic dyes and conductive polymers, which are applied on resining finishing. The study also found that experimented with conductive polymer leather processing has 38.4 kg/mm, 257.2% elongation, and 36.4 N tear strength, which are better than conventionally treated leather.